Madeira is a wine and the name of the Portuguese island it comes from, 1000 kilometres south west of Portugal, off the coast of Africa. The soils here are volcanic and the climate has a high rainfall. Wines made here were historically shipped in barrels in the hills of ships where the heat baked (maderised) them, hence the name Madeira came into being. Today the wines are baked in the wineries to emulate the style. This one is medium sweet with rich flavours of caramel, dried apricots, walnuts and spice. Fresh acidity adds balance and this is an ideal Madeira for cooking with or sipping lightly chilled.